Page 95 of Intermission

“Yeah.” I snort. “Basically, she ordered him out of our house. That was about the extent of it.”

“That sounds pretty harsh, even for Janet. And nobody does harsh like Janet Prescott, C.P.A.”

“You’ve got that right.”

“Oh, bother. Forget I said that. She’s your mother, and I shouldn’t talk about her like that in front of you. In fact,” Grandma Maddie says, chuckling as she massages my scalp, “I shouldn’t be talking about her atallif I want to keep my blood pressure down. But since she’s married to my little boy, the only child of a poor old widow, I can’t be expected to be unbiased.”

I’m a little disappointed when my scalp massage ends. That’s always my favorite part of a haircut.

“Janet is Janet,” Grandma Maddie continues as she rinses my hair. “And I’m old and set in my ways. But you, my dear Madeleine Faith, are loved by us both. I must be a better grandma and just shut up about your mother. Is that warm enough? Too hot?”

“It’s just right.” The spray of warm water tingles through the lather on my head. “I don’t know why you even ask. You always pick the right temperature.”

I open my eyes just long enough to see my grandmother’s smile. “I do my best. So... what are we doing today? Just a trim? Or are you feeling adventurous?”

“Just the ends. I like it long.”

She drapes a towel over my head and helps me sit up. “Where does your young man get his hair cut?”

“I don’t know. Probably nowhere fancy. Noah’s pretty frugal. He’s saving up to study theatre in England.”

“Isee.”

Grandma Maddie guides me to one of the hydraulic chairs in the middle of the salon. The three other stylists are reading magazines intheir otherwise-unoccupied chairs.

“I suppose that begs the question ifyouare now thinking of studying drama in England?”

“Nope.” My voice vibrates as Grandma Maddie roughly towel-dries my hair. “I’m still going to apply stateside. Besides, by the time I start college, Noah will only have one more year left.”

“Always the practical one, my Madeleine Faith.”

“Not according to my mother,” I grumble. “She thinks I’m a flake.”

“Aflake?” Grandma Maddie spins the chair around. Planting both hands on the armrests, she leans over to be eye level with me. “Did she say that to you?”

“No.” I always feel a little guilty, a little disloyal, when I talk to Grandma about Mom. “But she did compare me to Aunt Becca.”

“Hah.” Grandma straightens and puts her hands on her hips. “You’re no more like Becca than your mother is. I’ve only met your aunt a few times, but ohmy. Total opposites, those two. And neither one—never mind.”

She spins the chair back around. “Forgive me, sweetie. Your mother means well. Most of the time. And don’t worry about what she says. You are nothing, and I meannothing,like your Aunt Becca. Yes, she can sing, but my goodness! That girl is a certifiable dingbat. Becca’s put so much junk into her body that if she rubbed two of her brain cells together for an hour I don’t think you’d even get a spark.”

Wow. Grandma’s on a roll today!

I decide to change the subject to one that doesn’t make me feel quite so uncomfortable, even though this one is fairly entertaining. “Hey, I heard you say something to one of the clients that somebody new is going to start working here. Did somebody quit?”

“No. I’m expanding. Moving with the times. Do you know Lissa Reynolds?”

“Sure. She was on the dance team with me. She graduated last year.”

“And she’s just graduated again. Lissa is a certified esthetician.”

“Awhat?”

“She does facials, skincare, makeup, that sort of stuff. Sure would have liked to have had her during prom season.” Grandma Maddieclicks her tongue. “Oh well, there’s always next year. Anywho, Lissa’s going to be starting here as soon as I get another sink installed. The guy’s supposed to come on Thursday, but we’ll see.”

She pulls a comb through the back of my hair. “You know, my hair used to be this color when I was young. Back before I went through my ‘frosting’ phase in the eighties.” She sighs. “The eighties fried a lot of follicles in this town, let me tell you. My hair never came back to its former glory.”

“I like your hair. The color you have now is really pretty.”